"Sheepdogs" | Reviewed by William Winkler

Former Marine officer and CIA agent Elliot Ackerman is the author of the recently published novel “Sheepdogs.” Ackerman’s military and intelligence background forms the foundation for his novel, steeped in international intrigue and individual bravado.

The action centers around Skwerl, a disgraced special operations soldier mustered out of the service after an assignment gone badly awry in Afghanistan, and Cheese, a former top Afghan air force pilot who, like Skwerl is down on his luck, working the graveyard shift in a convenience store to support himself and his pregnant wife.

The hapless duo are approached by a character under the direction of the shadowy “Sheepdog” and tasked with “repossessing” a private jet from a remote island and delivering it to Marseilles. They will be paid one million dollars if they accomplish the task on time and to specifications.

All goes according to plan until the pair are accosted by a security guard who has apparently been left out of the grand scheme. As the plot unravels, more characters appear on stage, including Skwerl’s partner, a dominatrix who insists on being called “Mistress S.” Her clients include a newly elected congressman from Philadelphia and an excommunicated Amish farmer named Ephraim.

Skwerl and Cheese fly the plane to a remote private airstrip in Colorado, from which they negotiate the return of Cheese’s wife, who has been kidnapped and held hostage until the plane and its contents are turned over to the mysterious figures behind the operation.

With equal degrees of action, suspense, mystery and humor, “Sheepdogs” is a fun summer read. And its cryptic ending seems to foreshadow at least one sequel.

Buy the Book.